Duty to the heart
by bunnygirl2012
Summary: Sometimes in life events happen that cause priorities change. ItaXOC. Hiatus
1. Prologue

Five years ago…..

A quiet ringing filled the silent air, signaling it was time for dismissal from the academy. I stood quietly by the oak tree, waiting for my younger brother to show up amongst the throng of other kids. When he finally did show he was talking animatedly with Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, and some other kid I didn't recognize; however, that didn't mean much, my brother was such a kind hearted person that everybody loved him and he made new friends almost every day. Sighing quietly, I started walking towards the small group dreading when I finally was in their presence; I didn't understand why my younger sibling was friends with Naruto, that kid annoyed the living hell out of me.

The moment I was within range of hearing their conversation all I heard was a loud, "Believe it!" coming from Naruto. Unable to help it I cringed slightly and gritted my teeth; I couldn't believe my mother sent me to fetch my brother from Academy; he was big enough to walk home on his own.

"Kishi," I called out to my younger brother when I was a few feet away from his group.

At the sound of his name, my brother's head whipped around to look right at me. His aqua colored eyes shone brightly, and the sun caught his hair just right giving the pale brown a lustrous glow. A giant smile was plastered across his face at the sight of me, and I smiled back at him weakly.

"Hey Ayano, what's up?" He asked as he sauntered up to me coolly.

"Not much little brother. Who's the new kid you're hanging out with?" My tone was light and curious.

"Oh," Kishi glanced back at the group, "His name is Kiba Inuzuka, we just met today. He has a dog named Akamaru."

Now that my brother had said something about it, I noticed a small, furry white puppy dancing through Kiba's feet. "Interesting," I murmured softly.

"Yeah, nice kid. So, what are you doing here?"

"Mom sent me to come and get you," I looked at the ground as I said this. Even though it was our overly protective mother who sent me, I knew my younger brother would be mad at me.

"Seriously? And you agreed? Why would you do something like Ay? I'm old enough to walk myself home," he protested loudly.

"Yeah, I know, I told her that but she insisted," my response was swift.

"Well, I want to hang out with the guys so tell her I had to study and you didn't see me or something," he pleaded with me softly.

I cocked an eyebrow at him and feigned shock, "You mean you want me to lie to our dear mother?"

He rolled his eyes at my little act, "Yeah sure, you're a good liar I've seen you do it, like, a thousand times. Besides, I'm her favorite so she'll forgive me by the time I get home anyways."

Silently I weighed my options, because I knew he was right. However, the only problem was that I also knew she wouldn't forgive me for not bringing him home right away, like she wanted; not that it really mattered, because it seemed no matter what I did, I was constantly disappointing her.

"What do I get in return?" I questioned him; hell, if I'm going to lie I might as well get something for it.

"I'll do your chores for a week, so you can work on training more,"

I mulled this over for a few minutes before I replied to him, "Make it two and you have yourself a deal."

He grimaced slightly at my new proposal, "Fine, we have a deal."

Smirking slightly, I stuck my hand out to him and he shook it weakly.

"Sweet, cya at dinner," I yelled over my shoulder as I walked away from him.

"Thanks sis," he called back to me.

As I made my way out of the court yard back onto the street, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. Chances are I'd have to come up with something elaborate, but kind of simple too. If it was to elaborate, Kishi would get confused and get us caught if mother decided to question him, not that she would. I couldn't exactly tell her that I didn't see him, because she would know right away that that would be a lie. I was too good a ninja to not spot him, even in a large mass of people such as that; maybe I could tell her that he went to the library to study, she might be slightly suspicious but I guess it wasn't too out of the question. Chances are that in the end I'll just tell her that he got in trouble for talking during class and had to stay after, because that would be the most likely thing to happen.

Once my mind had finally decided on what I was going to tell her, I was able to relax. Now that I was in the street and not really thinking, my senses were assaulted by the new surroundings. The court yard by the Academy had been shaded, but now that I wasn't under the protection of the trees the sun beat down on my tanned skin, and a warm breeze ran across my body. My ears picked up on the quiet conversations going on around me, friends trading their secret crushes name, slight giggles, and merchants trading with one another and bargaining with customers. Bright summer colors moved along in front of my eyes and I drank in everything silently as I made my way home.

Even though I wasn't really thinking, I wasn't paying that much attention to those around me either. My being was drawn more to the sights and smells that surrounded me, threatening to swallow me whole. Every now and then I would see a face I might recognize, and, to be polite, I would wave and say a simple hello. It wasn't until I was about half way home that I finally saw him; Itachi Uchiha. Just the sight of him caused me to blush and smile like a fool. Itachi, was perhaps my biggest hero, and not to mention my biggest crush.

At the age of thirteen, only two years my senior, he was already captain of the Anbu Black Ops, plus he had so many other achievements that it would take some time to name them all. It was surprising that I even knew this about him, since we had only conversed briefly before, but my mother was a big gossip, so I heard things.

Not knowing what possessed me, I called out to him, "Itachi-san!"

At the sound of my voice, the older Uchiha looked around and I waved at him, jogging up to his side. Normally I was a cool, calm collected person like they had taught us to be at the academy, but when I was near him, my stomach would form tight knots and I would become so nervous that I felt like I could vomit.

When I was almost by Itachi's side, he smiled easily at me, "Ah, hello there Ayano-chan."

My heart clenched the moment he said that, "You called me chan," I whispered softly.

Itachi chuckled softly, "Well yeah, we're peers; I don't expect you to call me san. I'd rather you call me Itachi-chan or just Itachi."

"Oh okay, I guess. So, Itachi how are you?" I had to force myself to call him just Itachi.

"I'm good, maybe a little stressed and tired, but other than that I'm good. How are you Ayano?" His tone was light, sweet.

"Pretty bored actually, most of my time has been spent training for the upcoming exams. My sensei says I have a great chance at passing and my mother told me I have to pass or she's going to ground me forever," A nasty look passed over my face at the mention of my mother. I also wasn't lying when I said my mother said I had to pass; actually, what she really said was I have to pass and if I fail, I don't get grounded, I will probably end up on the streets.

The boy standing opposite of me just laughed at my facial expression, "Oh Ayano, you wear the most adorable expressions for a young ninja."

His compliment caused the blood in my veins to race to my cheeks, turning them a bright crimson red. I stared at the ground and fidgeted nervously as he stared intently at me; the pressure of his gaze was strangely heavy on my shoulders.

"Erm, thank you Itachi-san," the words slipped from my mouth. My face turned even redder as I realized I called him san again.

Itachi just chuckled at me again, "Well, what are you doing out here on the streets if you should be training?"

"I grew bored with my training session so I convinced my Sensei to let me go early. Then when I got home my mother told me I had to go pick up Kishi from school and walk him home, so now I'm on my way home to my mother," I played with the hem of my dark shirt while I explained this to him.

"Ah, yes your younger brother. How is he by the way?" Itachi's tone was the same as mine had been when I had asked Kishi about his new friend, light and curious.

"Oh, um he's okay I guess, causing trouble as normal," I giggled lightly, still nervous I might make a fool of myself.

Itachi smirked, "Sounds like any young kid. So, you were on your way home you said?"

I just nodded in response, unsure of what to say to him now. Honestly, I had never felt so awkward in my life. Unable to help it, I felt so small and insignificant when I was near Itachi; his presence just seemed to dominate everything around it. Though there was a whole world surrounding the two of us, I felt as if we were the only important things around; just the two of us, hear together, mattered.

"Ayano?" Itachi asked, worried.

While my mind had been wandering, he must have asked a question that I missed. I looked up into his onyx colored eyes, "What?"

"I asked if I could walk you home," he repeated what he asked me.

At his question, my palms grew sweaty, my eyesight dim. Had my crush really just asked to walk me rest of the way home? My heart beat increased to a frantic pace when I realized I should answer, before he thinks I'm dumb or that I'm going to turn him.

"Yeah, sure I'd love that," I stuttered.

The teenage male smiled and headed the direction in which I had been going. Following after him, I tried to think of clever things to say, so we could keep conversing. Unfortunately my brain seemed to have died, because nothing came to mind and even breathing was hard for me. What do I say to someone as cool as Itachi without sounding so childish, I wondered to myself.

All the way to my house, our conversation was stilted, quiet, and almost dead. We seemed so awkward around each other; was that normal for kids our age? Every attempt at small talk was thwarted when only one word responses were given; this was not normal for me, I hated not being able to converse freely with Itachi. It was a shame I couldn't think of some remedy to my shyness by the time we reached my house.

When we got to my house, it felt as if we had walked only mere moments when it reality we had probably walked for half an hour.

"This would be my house," I murmured as we stood silently in front of the tan building, or also my wanna-be-home.

"Oh well, I guess this is where I say good-bye to you then Ayano," Itachi responded, almost as quiet as me.

As he started to walk away, a thought occurred to me.

"Why did you walk me home Uchiha?" I called out to him.

Itachi froze mid-step and looked at me over his shoulder, a small, sad smile played across his lips. Sauntering back over to me coolly, I felt a warming, fluttery feeling creep over my body.

He tilt his head to the side when he stood in front of me; the raven haired boy stood over me slightly so I had to look up to stare into his stormy eyes.

"Well, I couldn't let someone as beautiful as you walk home alone, now could I?" His thumb brushed against my cheek, like a soft, cool breeze on a summer's day.

The beating of my heart became irregular and I inhaled oxygen erratically. Itachi Uchiha, perhaps the most promising ninja of our time, thought I was beautiful? How could that even be possible? Unable to process what I was doing, I leaned in closer to Itachi just as he leaned down. Our lips were just about to make contact when I heard the voice that I despised most days: my mother's.

"Get your damn hands off of her you filthy vermin," she screeched loudly.

Quickly, we pulled away from each other; at that instant my heart broke and I felt alone. Itachi stared down at the ground when he spoke to my mother.

"I'm sorry Ma'am I didn't mean to offend, I just..." he broke off mid-sentence.

"Get the hell away Itachi," she spat his name, "and never let me see your face near my daughter again. If I ever find out you two have anything to do with each other, I swear I will kill you."

I flinched at her words, why would she do something like this? How could she ruin my life like this? Before I had a chance to protest her words, Itachi dipped his head in a bow, mumbled some words of apologies and disappeared.

The moment he was gone I turned a dark glare upon my mother, "What the hell is your problem mother?"

"That kid has an evil aura about him; you need to stay away from him. I do not want him to corrupt you. He's dangerous," she explained slowly, as if she was talking to a little kid who just got caught shoplifting.

"You bitch," I snarled.

"Oh, darling you'll get over it," she cooed happily.

"Fuck you," the words flew from my mouth before I stormed inside.

**A/N: So yeah this is my first OC fanfic, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll update it as often as possible, but it all depends on my time and how easy ideas come to my mind. However, if my readers would like to suggest things to that would be pretty wicked. I would really appreciate reviews and tell me what you think. **


	2. Leaving Konoha

Five years later…..

Memories whirled around viciously in my head; it felt as if my brain had been invaded by a tornado of the past. The thoughts that bounced in my skull made it hard to focus on what the Lord Hokage was saying to me. I have no idea why, but my mind seemed to be focusing primarily on the day that Itachi had been forcefully removed from my life, for no real apparent reason except that my mother thought he was too dangerous. After that things just seemed to go, well just okay with a few down times; I had passed my exams, joined Anbu and quickly made my way up the ladder to become the captain at the age of 14, and not long after that my younger brother, Kishi, had joined the Anbu as well. Unfortunately, things hadn't gone as well for Itachi; he murdered his whole clan, except for his younger brother Sasuke, about three years ago, when he was only fifteen. After that he fled from Konoha; rumor was that he had joined the Akatsuki, the elite group of S-classed shinobi criminals.

"So, if you so much as much as choose to accept this mission, that's what needs to be done," the deep voice of my Hokage said, pulling me from the cacophony of my mind.

Sighing quietly, I shifted my weight to my other foot, growing impatient with this banter between the two of us; honestly, I just wanted to get this done and over with, "As captain of the Anbu, do I really have a choice in the missions I get to accept?"

This remark earned a chuckle from the older man sitting on the other side of the grainy looking desk, "Nope I guess you really don't, do you Ayano? At least, not after last time you turned down a mission."

Glaring at him from underneath my Anbu mask, I responded tersely, "Shut the hell up, I told you to never bring that up again."

Konoha's leader stuck his nose in the air defiantly, "Do not speak to me like that, do you understand? Remember, I am the one who convinced your mother to let you stay with her when she wanted to kick you out, and you never even said thank you to me" his tone was sharp, as if he was trying to reprimand me for not thanking him for keeping me in that hell hole.

"Yeah, you know I'm not going to thank you for something like that. In all honesty, I wish you would have let her kick me out. Whatever though, the past is the past and neither of us can fix our mistakes. So, when do you want me to head out?" I grumbled harshly, trying like hell to keep my temper under control. The duty I felt to my village was the only thing that kept me from jumping over the desk and throttling the old man.

"Inform your mother that you will be leaving the village for some time. Will you need to gather a team?" His tone was light, but I heard the underlying hope that I wouldn't need to involve anyone else. Apparently, this was some top secret mission that so far only I knew about, and he wanted to keep it that way; I didn't really know the full gist about it, since I hadn't been playing close attention to him, but I guess he wanted to try and keep it on the down low. When it came to protecting my village, I didn't tend to ask questions, I just did as I was told; questions only muddled things up, making any mission harder to complete.

His question brought a smirk to my face, "I won't need a team, I'm pretty sure I can handle this on my own Lord Hokage. After all, a team might just get in my way."

"Good, good. I want you to head out after you speak to your mother. Oh yes, you have a week to complete this mission and then I will expect a full report upon your return,"

I scoffed and tried not to laugh in his face, "Give me some credit, I should only need three days to complete this and then I'll be home ready to move on to the next thing."

"Well you have a week in case of complications; you never know what might happen, so don't be so cocky," he grunted quietly.

This time I couldn't hold in my laughter, "Yeah, whatever old man. See you're giving me a week, because that's how long it would take you. You're a washed up old shinobi who wishes he had half of my talent," I taunted and I smiled on the inside as the words left my lips; I only meant about half of what I said, all I was really trying to do was get a reaction. Oh boy, did I ever get one.

The Hokage's hands clenched into fists, causing his skin to grow taut over his old bones and he slammed them down on the desk heavily. A loud creak escaped from the old furniture; that desk is probably as old as him, I thought, laughing to myself. His eyes threw a dark glare my way and he looked like he was trying to shoot kunai at me through his eyes.

Finally, after a few moments of death glares and attempting to calm down, he spoke to me, "One week Ayano, that's all you have. Now get out of my sight before I lose control of myself and kill you. You are dismissed."

I arched an eyebrow; he only called me by name when he was extremely pissed at me.

"Right then, one week. So, I'll cya in about three days," I threw the words out carelessly one last time before I bowed deeply and disappeared silently from the room.

When I reappeared I stood on the outskirts of town, and I sighed quietly as I began the all too familiar journey home. My legs moved on their own slowly, procrastinating, I hated going home to speak to my mother; I always avoided heading to the house, my mother annoyed the shit out of me. She was consistently telling me what a disappointment I was to her; some days it was the fact that I don't have many friends, and that if I wasn't such a social outcast my life would be so much better than it was already. There were so many things I did to disappoint her that I lost count and eventually stopped caring; she had only been proud of me once and that was when I had become captain of the Black Ops. However, that achievement was quickly over shadowed when Kishi had become a member of Anbu, and she was ecstatic about that, bragging to anyone who would listen that her little boy was a deadly shinobi; a normal person would have become jealous and hated their sibling, but I wasn't jealous or anything like that. Actually it was quite the opposite, I was really proud of my younger brother and I loved him dearly, he was my best friend and we always had each other's backs; not to mention, all my life I had been second best to Kishi, so I was used to it.

No matter how long I tried to take on my walk home, it seemed I always there in a matter of mere minutes. About a year ago we had moved to the outskirts of town where there weren't many people around; my mother claimed that she was tired of being around nosy people and needed to be in solitude, but I knew the truth, she was haunted by memories, just like I was. I stood outside our newer house and stared, trying to gather the strength and courage to venture in there to actually speak to the witch that had the nerve to call herself a mother; for some odd reason though, no matter how much I insist I hate her and no matter what she does to make me mad, I could never seem to gather the will power to stop claiming her as my mother and remove myself from her life by becoming emancipated. How could I willingly, of my own accord, take away her last child when she had already lost one? Isn't that enough?

Exhaling slowly, I made my way inside to tell her good-bye. When I entered I stood in our overly large, sparsely furnished living room. Everything here was a dull, neutral tan color; the carpet, the walls, even the furniture was a tannish color, and the only 'splash' of color in this room was the thick, frilly white drapes. Before I informed my mother of my presence, I removed my Anbu mask and slid it under the back of my shirt; an attempt to hide it since she hated the Black Ops.

"Hey mother, I'm home," I called out, flinching on the inside at calling this place my home.

"Oh, hello Ayano," she responded to me, her voice subdued; even her tone sounded sad whenever she talked to me.

"Where are you? I need to talk to you," I yelled as I slowly walked through the living room, toward the hall that led to the rest of the house.

"I'm in the kitchen darling, and we have company," this time her voice sounded a bit chirpier.

Cocking my head to the side, I slowly wandered towards the kitchen area. Company? When the hell did anyone ever visit with my mother? My eyes scanned the halls, staring at the few pictures that hung there; most of them were scenic pictures taken by Kaiyo, my mother. When I got to the door near the kitchen, I froze the moment I noticed that there was a new picture hanging out the wall, and the sight of it made my heart seize up. It was an old picture of Kishi, taken before he joined the Anbu. He was smiling brightly and seemed so happy, so peaceful; it was a shame he didn't know the fate that would befall him less than a year later.

Pushing open the kitchen door, I saw Kaiyo sitting at the table with one of her old friends. They each had a cup of steaming tea sitting in front of them; when I finally caught a whiff of the sweet aroma of Chai, my mouth began to water and I felt rather thirsty.

"Hello there Ayano, it's been some time since I've seen you," my mother's friend beamed brightly at me.

I just nodded my head at her before I turned to my mother, "I really need to talk to you, I'm getting ready to head out on another mission, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it shouldn't be much longer than a week."

Kaiyo turned a deep glare upon me, "Ayano, don't you see I have company? I think you can wait to tell me this, until after my friend leaves."

The tension in the room grew rather thick instantly and as my mother's friend grew nervous, she began to fidget uncomfortably. The lightening blue eyes of my mother stared at me, malice flashing through them, I returned her look with the same amount of hatred; how could you despise someone who had given birth to you?

"Erm, it's okay Kaiyo, I should probably get going anyways," her friend muttered as she stood to leave.

The sound of the weak voice grabbed my mother's attention causing her to look away from me.

"Oh, are you sure?" She asked, shocked and concerned.

"Yes, I should probably get home to start making dinner,"

"Well, I'll walk you to the door," my mother schmoozed, as she stood with her companion.

"It was nice seeing you again Ayano," the older woman murmured as she passed me.

"Likewise," I responded woodenly, still standing near the doorway.

My mother was following her friend out of the kitchen when she turned to face me, "I'll deal with you when I get back," she growled.

Oh, how I was looking forward to that, not. While my mother was showing her friend out, I decided to sit down at our round, oak table. As I sat there, admiring the wood pattern, I could hear Kaiyo stomping back down towards me.

"What the hell was that for you brat?" She screamed at me the moment she entered the kitchen.

"I simply came home to tell you that I was leaving," I gazed at her from my seat.

Her face was beat red, her nostrils flaring widely, and her eyes were bulging; she actually kind of looked funny, in a messed up sort of way.

"You couldn't have fucking waited until my company left?" She bellowed angrily.

"Well, I hadn't planned on making her leave. I just came home to simply tell you that I had a mission," my voice the complete opposite of hers; it was calm, level, void of emotion.

"I don't care, you selfish little brat," she growled in frustration and began to pace in the spacious kitchen, "I give and give to you, yet I get nothing in return. You're so lucky that I still let you even live with me, especially after what you did."

While she had been ranting, I had been tracing my finger along the table making weird shapes, but at the last part of her sentence caused my head to snap up.

"What did I do exactly?" I grunted; my temper was starting to rise, since I knew where she was headed with this.

"You know what I'm talking about," she stalked towards me.

"No mother, tell me how I disappointed you this time," I mumbled softly.

She got in my face as she spat the next words at me, "It's all your fault, you know? You're not good enough for anything; you don't deserve to be the Captain of the Anbu. That should have been your brother's job."

I bit my bottom lip, and avoided making eye contact with her; though when I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, I noticed a little collection of spittle in the corner of her lips.

Unable to help myself, the words spilled from lips, "What's my fault?"

"You're the reason your brother is dead," she whispered cruelly in my ears.

Oxygen caught in my throat the moment she said that, almost causing me to gag. Unfortunately, she didn't know how close to home she hit in blaming me, but I could never let her know that. Instead, I let out a short laugh that almost sounded like a cross between a hiccup and a sob.

"No, his group would be the reason he died, mother. Not me," I looked her in the eye as I spoke to her slowly.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she stepped away from me. When she turned her back to me, I thought she was going to leave but instead after a moment, she whirled around and smacked me across the face.

"You lying bitch," she snarled.

Stunned at her actions, I could only sit there for a few moments trying to process what had just happened. My hand slowly rose to touch the spot she hit; I could already feel welts starting to form. After it finally sunk in what happened, I reacted on pure adrenalin and instinct. Jumping up from my seat, I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall. My forearm rest heavily against her windpipe, making it hard for her to breath; I stuck the point of a kunai up against her throat as well, causing a little bead of blood to form.

"Do not ever speak to me that way again, Kaiyo," I growled harshly, my voice hoarse from rage.

She tried to laugh, but when the kunai dug deeper into her throat she stopped. I could feel her glare better than I could see it and I had to try and not return the look.

"You should have died Ayano, not him. It should have been you on that mission, not your brother," she whispered cruelly.

My breathing became ragged, unsteady. The grip I had on my kunai tightened as I resisted the urge to just stab her for her terrible words.

"You don't mean that," I cried out, even though I knew she did.

"It's all your fault Ayano, you killed your brother. For that, you are dead to me," she spoke each word as if it were its own sentence; for each word that was said, it felt as if someone was stabbing me in the heart.

I knew part of the reason she said that was to get a reaction out of me, and as much as I hate to admit it, it worked.

"I hate you," I roared as I fled the house.

Tears began to well in my eyes and I quickly brushed them away, lest someone see me cry. Not really paying attention to where I was going, my feet began to rapidly take me to somewhere I felt safe. Without noticing it, I wound up in the cemetery where Kishi had been buried. Quickly, I found my way to his grave and fell to knees before it.

"Oh mein bruder*," I murmured before I began to sob.

I let the tears run shamelessly down my cheek; the sobs that tore through my throat raked across my ribs. Breathing became next to impossible as I tried to suck in oxygen between each sob, and for some reason with every breath I managed to get, it felt like it was ripping my lungs to shreds. Words fell incoherently from my lips as I tried to work through my problems; when I was near Kishi's grave, I felt safe, secure, and it almost felt as if he was here telling that everything would be okay.

"What is wrong with me Kishi? Why can't I do anything right?" I cried out sadly. There was no response, but that was expected because right now I wasn't in control of myself.

After some time, the tears began to dry up and the sobs turned into small hiccups. Somehow, after my little break down session, I felt so much better and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. When I glanced around the empty cemetery, the grass seemed greener, the tombstones clearer and everything just seemed, different. However, my whole body ached and I felt like I could pass out at any moment, but I knew I had a mission to complete.

Standing suddenly, I glanced back at Kishi's grave one last time. A sad smile crawled across my lips slowly and I ran my fingers over the smooth granite of his tombstone.

"Ich habe dich lieb mein bruder**," I whispered before I walked away without a second glance.

Once again I was standing on the outskirts of town, except this time I had something else on my mind, and I wasn't filled with fear. Instead, I filled with courage and an inner strength I had forgot I possessed; though my body ached like no tomorrow, I knew I had to complete this mission, for my village, for my Lord Hokage. Slipping on my mask, I sauntered away from a town known as Konoha, my home, with a smile on my face and a goal in mind.

*German for 'my brother'

**German for 'I have love for my brother'. May not be perfect grammar, but oh well sorry.

**A/N: Mwhahah, another chapter done already, go me. Sorry it doesn't have much action and if it seems kind of dull. However, next chapter will have more action since she'll be on her mission and what not, this one was just to kind of show her crappy relationship with her mother (who only got a name cause I was tired of typing 'my mother). I don't know how big of a character her mother will be, probably not a big one. Also, please don't expect me to update this quick for every chapter, but I'll try. It's getting kind of late so I should go, until next time, later. Oh yeah, one last thing, I hope you enjoyed and reviews are always welcome. Sorry this is so long and I'm shutting up now.**


	3. Finding the shrine amoung other things

_The Following Day:_

The village was awfully quiet for this time of day; my eyes quickly scanned my surroundings as I looked for danger. Though no one seemed to be an immediate threat to me, the villagers apparently felt that I was a danger to their safety; women pulled their children inside then slammed and locked their doors, men glared at me and shop owners shut their doors. I didn't really understand why they were being so cautious, I mean after all I was just one girl; maybe they had had issues with strangers in the past. For some reason I had the strange feeling that this was going to make my job so much harder. In an attempt to not alarm anyone, I moved slowly with my head bowed to avoid eye contact with them.

"Hello there young lady, may I interest you in a necklace?" A friendly, masculine voice called out to me.

Quickly throwing a sweet, innocent smile on my face, I glanced up at the man who had called out. He seemed to be about my mother's age, so maybe in his late forties, and a shop owner.

"Hi there, good sir," I cooed sweetly.

"You are quite the beauty, perhaps the most beautiful woman I saw in my lifetime. And that's saying a lot since I saw plenty of pretty women in my life," his tone was filled with sincerity and this caused a blush to creep across my cheeks. "And a shinobi, too. Skilled with twin swords I see."

"Thank you, that is kind of you to say," I murmured politely as I glanced across his wares; a nagging voice in my head kept trying to tell me something about the tense of his words, but I quickly ignored it, "I'm also skilled in many other things." He didn't really seem to have anything expensive looking, just a few trinkets mixed with some necklaces.

"I only speak the truth,"

I arched an eyebrow as I glanced at him again, "Is that so? Can you explain why the villagers aren't very welcoming to such a pretty woman such as myself?"

The gentleman looked around, a weird expression passed quickly over his face as if he just noticed that his comrades had fallen into their houses, their blinds shut, blocking off this world. At first he seemed kind of shocked, but then he started to laugh sadly.

"Well, in the past they have had wanders come through only to cause trouble and bring terrible luck upon them. Bad people, they caused mayhem at the Ghost Shrine,"

I nodded as if I was interested, though I kind of was interested since I had to go to said Ghost Shrine.

"What happened?" I asked, staring at him.

A glazed look came over the man's eyes as his mind drifted to the past, "Oh, something happened to some of the wanderers. A few of them came back and they would slaughter us and wreck things and the rest were never to be seen again."

I was shocked by his words. Why would those wanders want to kill people they didn't know, who had caused them no harm what so ever? The very thought of it made me sick and filled me with extreme anger.

Without realizing it I must have spoken aloud because the old man laughed again, this time with a little more humor, "Many say that the shrine is haunted and possessed the wanders."

"Is that what you think, too?" I couldn't help but be curious. The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end while I stood there talking to him; I could feel the pressure of their curious glances. What's so curious about me talking to this shop owner?

Without really answering me, the older man shrugged, "I'm not sure what I think young Miss. Ah, that's a very pretty necklace, it matches your eyes nicely."

I looked down, surprised, and saw my fingers playing with a necklace. It was a light blue pendant with small lavender colored flower in it; the pendant part was connected to a small string that tied around the neck so someone could wear it.

"The flower is said to grant protection against possession, if you believe in that kind of thing," the man smiled sweetly at me.

"I see, how much do you want for it?" I had a feeling that I would need it.

The shop keeper considered, "For you it's free,"

My head jerked up and I eyed him warily, "You don't mean that, this necklace must be worth something."

He waved his hand as if dismissing the subject, "Well, as I said you're the prettiest woman I ever saw. Pretty woman deserve pretty things, and besides I get the feeling it will come in handy for you sometime soon. Not to mention you kind of remind me of the daughter I once had."

Once again I couldn't help but blush at the sincerity in the voice, and I looked at the ground.

"Come here," he murmured as he took the necklace from my hands.

Leaning over his items, I tilted my head down as he put the necklace around my neck. He softly patted my shoulder when he was finished tying the thin cord. I couldn't help but look to see how the necklace looked on me and my breath was taken away; when he was said the color would go perfectly with my eyes, he hadn't been lying. The blue hue seemed to make my eyes shine brighter, turning them from a dull blue to more of a sapphire color.

When I remained silent for a few moments the man began to speak again, "So young lady, you say you are skilled in many ways, yes? Does that mean you have possibly come to infiltrate that wretched Ghost shrine and rid the villagers of their problems?"

I pondered his words carefully before responding with a slight shrug, "Yeah, I guess that's a possibility."

"The village would be ever so thankful," he beamed a smile at me.

Unable to help it, I smiled back at him softly, "Is that so? Would I go down in history for my help?" I asked, teasing him slightly.

Laughing, he gave his answer, "I wouldn't put it past some of these people and if you did save them all, I'm sure many of them will tell their children and grandchildren of the mighty and rather beautiful shinobi they saw."

"Oh why sir, you make quite the bargain. If you give me directions, I think I will go visit this deadly shrine," was my simply reply.

"That's no problem; you just keep going straight out of the village and after some time, if you keep an eye out, you'll find a deserted looking road on the left. Then you just take that road and follow it till it comes to a dead end and you'll be at the shrine," his directions were simple, but his voice seemed to have tensed considerably.

Nodding, I committed the directions to memory, though it wasn't that hard.

"Thank you for your time sir. I will go eradicate any ghosts I come upon at the shrine," I said as I reached into my pocket to pull out some coins.

After tossing the money on his table, I began to walk away without another word; as I was walking away, I began to feel a surge of strength run through my blood. This sensation caused me to cock my head to the side, this didn't happen unless—

"Ma'am, I told you the necklace is free and even if you paid for it, this is far too much," the man called out to me, pulling me from my thoughts.

I waved my hand over my shoulder, "It's for your help, and I don't need the money."

"Thank you and good luck on your mission Ayano,"

His words sent a deep chill through my body and I whipped around to look at him, but when I did no one was standing there. No, this is impossible, this can't be happening to me, not now, I thought to myself; fear began to coarse through my veins. Suddenly, the annoying voice from earlier came back full force and it hit me; that man hadn't been real, he'd been a ghost. Groaning, I stalked toward the shrine while the conversation ran through my head again; unconsciously my hand ran up to touch the necklace around my neck and that was real enough. This was the first time something like this had ever happened to me, and really, this was freaking me out; my mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out what had just happened. Obviously, somehow, most likely subconsciously, my kekkei genkai had been activated and I hadn't even noticed; that alone is proof that I need to train more, I told myself harshly. I grit my teeth when I thought back to my reflection in the mirror; I had been dumb to think that it was the necklace that caused my eyes to change like that. The blue orbs only turned that shade when my blood line trait was activated, when I was talking to ghosts, like the old man; at that moment I wanted nothing more than to throw my head against a wall in hopes of knocking some sense into myself.

While I was ranting at myself in my head, I continued on my trek to the Ghost Shrine. So lost in my own world I almost missed the road that led to this place, and once again I began to curse myself out.

"You need to get your damn head out of the clouds and focus on the mission at hand," I bitterly growled at myself as my legs continued to walk slowly.

I knew I was growing closer to the shrine because I could feel my kekkei genkai struggling to consume me. My heart began to beat faster and a sweat began to develop on my palms and my forehead; brashly, I wiped the sticky substance away from my eyebrows, and tried to focus myself. Sooner than I was expecting I was standing outside a place that reminded me more of a cave than a shrine.

Breathing in a deep breath of fresh oxygen, I allowed my inheritance to slip on and steeled myself for what was to come. Though I consume strength from ghosts and made an attempt to brace myself, the sudden shock to my system damn near took me to my knees; the overload of spirits and chakra sent my senses into overdrive. A slight breeze sifted the trees and caused me to shiver as it danced carelessly across my skin; my eyes hurt from the bright burning sensation of the sun; unfamiliar smells assaulted my nose, almost making me gag. The closer I grew to this place, the worse everything became; what would things be like once I was actually inside there, I wondered warily to myself.

When I was standing at the mouth of the cave type place I felt a familiar presence beside me. Turning to my right, I saw the old man from the village off to the side.

"You were killed be one of the wanders, weren't you? You really know what happens here, don't you?" I wasn't angry like I was expecting. Instead, I felt bad for the old man, losing his life for no reason at all, except there was an angry ghost out here who took control of weak fools.

Laughing bitterly, the man's response was simple, "Yes Ayano, I was killed by one of those weak fools as you so kindly put it. Sad thing is, I could have killed them all; slaughtered them like the pigs they were."

"Why didn't you?" The question fell from my lips before I could stop it.

"I had no reason to keep on living. My first wife abandoned me some years ago, taking both of my children with her. Then when I tried to re-start my life and re-marry things worked for some time. I had another son and was content for a while with my wife. However, I kept thinking about my daughter and her younger brother, and then one day I received a letter from my first wife. Apparently, my children had both made Blacks Ops, my heart swelled with pride especially when I read my sweet little girl, Ayano, made captain. However, as I continued on with the letter I learned my first son had died on a mission and after that things grew worse. My second wife grew sick and died a short few months later. After that my second son died as well, and I was too old to start over again," the man's explanation was breathless and emotionless, but inside my heart twisted.

While the man had talked, my gaze went back to the cave; I wouldn't face him while he spilt his tale to me. Now that he was done though, my body felt like a massive blob of emotions. This ghost couldn't possibly be my father, could it? I didn't really remember him; my mother told me he died when Kishi and I were still young, but it was possible that she had lied to us. How did I know for sure though?

"How do I know you're not just making up a story to make me feel bad for you?" I questioned softly.

A soft laugh filled the air, "I'm dead, why would I need you to feel sorry for me?"

My mind began to work swiftly as I thought over his words; he was right, he was dead and there was nothing I could really do for him now, "Okay, well still how do I know you're really my dad? And how did you recognize me if you haven't seen me in so many ears?"

"Because you have my eyes," he whispered into my ear, causing me to jump.

Turning to face him, it felt like I was staring into my own eyes. The ghost had the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen in my life and it sent chills down my spine.

"How is that even possible?" My voice was steady even though on the inside I was shaking like a leaf in a major windstorm.

Laughing at me again the man replied, "Ayano, I told you that I'm your father. Why can't you seem to accept that?"

"You were never there for us. Did you not want me and my brother? What could you possibly want from me now?"

Sighing in defeat, I felt the man fidgeting beside me, "I wanted you guys, I really did but I knew that your mother would provide for you two better than I ever could. Look, none of that really matters anymore. I'm ready to move on, go home where I belong but I can't till I complete one more mission. Look at me one last time before I go Ayano, please."

His tone was soft, defeated; wanting to grant his last wish, I turned my body to face him. Smiling at me, he began to move forward, as if to embrace me. Softly he brought me into his arms, giving me one last hug and quick peck on the cheek.

"Take care my daughter, use this last gift wisely. I love you," his words were soft before he walked through me; I gasped as his chakra began to flow through me and kekkei genkai grew stronger.

Needing to thank him, I began to turn and look at him but by the time I turned around, he was gone.

"Thank you father," I whispered softly into the wind.

With my new found strength, I began to walk into the shrine to complete my duty.

**A/N: Yup the chapter ends there, I apologize that it ends like that and there's no action. I got sick of not having posted anything in quite some time so I figured that I should post this up and stretch out the story a little more. However, the next chapter in guaranteed fighting cause she's obviously going into the shrine and what not. So, yeah sorry if the chapter sucked it was kinda hard to work through since I didn't want it to be so incredibly boring. Anyways, I'm going to stop ranting. I'd like to know what you think so reviews would be rather nice. Thanks.**


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